Lisa Kay Knits... and Quilts!

As I was making the "Summer in the Park" quilts (previous post), I ordered more jelly rolls (and flat strip packs) to make two quilts for my nephews. For Dane's quilt, I chose red and blue. Those are the same colors I used in Dane's baby quilt . For Reese's quilt, I wasn't sure what colors I wanted to use, and I just looked for batik strips that appealed to me and didn't seem girly. I ended up with earthy colors. I hope it isn't too dark. When it came time to make them, I decided to do something different than Summer in the Park. Dane's quilt uses a simple checkboard which is simple to assemble by sewing four 2.5" strips together lengthwise and then cutting them crosswise 2.5" apart and flipping every other unit before sewing them back together. I kept the sewn blocks in units of four and then alternated the types of blocks for a checkerboard within a checkerboard. The second quilt I decided to make into a log cabin. I had eno...

We celebrated Christmas with my side of the family, today. My brother, Dave, and his wife, Stephanie , brought their son, Dane, over for our celebration with my folks and my family. We had some pork sandwiches (smoked by Chris) and exchanged gifts. The boys had a chance to play. Mitchell's Zhu Zhu pets were a hit with both boys Dane liked the cricket we found at the St. Charles craft fair I forced some snuggling on Dane Of all the toys, new and old, Dane seemed to like Mitchell's old drill We sent the drill home with Dane The grandparents with both boys Merry Christmas, Lisa Kay

Hi, Uncle Dave met us for lunch with Dane, and the boys got a chance to see each other for the first time since Christmas. Mitchell held Dane's bottle up... even though he didn't really seem to need that much help. Dane may be small, but he holds his own. Dane seems very interested in everybody and everything going on. Grandma got to hold both boys together! Dane is a little snuggle-bug. We went to the mall to spend a little more time together after lunch, and Mitchell got to ride one of the quarter rides. (It takes three quarters, now. Go figure.) Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Hi, We met at Uncle Dave's for the "E" family Christmas, today. Dane is five months old, and a little trooper. He stayed awake until a few minutes before we left, even though he has a cough. (He was just getting back from the doctor when we got there.) I held Dane as much as I could. Chris looked over at me and just said, "No." (Gee, I can't imagine what that means...). Dane had the cutest Christmas outfit with little Santas on the feet. They were apparently tasty, too! Dane has just recently started rolling over, and he demonstrated for us and got some "belly time." Mitchell was already handing out lots of cousinly advice. He's very helpful. He tried to tell Aunt Stephanie how to get Dane to sleep, too. Three generations of E's. See any resemblance? Proud Grandpa! Edited to add: More pictures from Grandpa's camera... Mitchell's gift from Grandpa and Grandma was an Imaginext Dragon Castle. Mitchell was ver...

We're making dinner for the grandparents, all four, tonight. The turkey is in the oven. Last night, we had dinner at Maggiano's with Dave, Stephanie, Dane , and my folks. We had the "family style" dinner... they bring you as much as you want! Wow! Two appetizers, two salads, two pastas, two entrees, and two desserts. It was out of control, and the food is amazingly good, too. Dane was really laid back and just took it all in. He got a bottle at the end of dinner and was ready for bed time. Mitchell was excited and talking to everyone and wanting to hold Dane. He entertained the table next to us with magic tricks. Now, we're just going to have turkey... and some family time. Happy Thanksgiving! Lisa Kay

Hi, My nephew, Dane, was Christened last Sunday. The poor little guy was fighting an ear infection, but he did really well during the service and seemed happy through the party at his grandma's. It was great to see my brother and his family. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Hi, My brother's son, Dane, arrived safely this week, and he and his mother are very well. Mitchell and Chris and I went down to their house, today, so that Mitchell could meet him. Grandma went along, too, to see the grandsons together. Yea! Mitchell was pretty good with him. He was very intrigued with Dane's hands and feet, and I was little worried he would pull things in the wrong direction, but Dane didn't seem to mind. Happy Mothering, Lisa Kay

Hi, With a nephew, Dane, on the way, I'm making baby gifts and off to another shower, today. I started with the checkerboard booties, but the main gift is a quilt. The nursery colors are blue, red, and brown, so I picked out some fabrics that seemed to fit. I also got enough to make two quilts, so that Mitchell would get one. The only difference is that Dane's quilt has some brown in the backing fabric, and Mitchell's backing is just blue, and Dane's is quilted in brown thread while Mitchell's is quilted in blue thread. And, of course, the tags are different! Mitchell refers to Dane as "Cloudy." He's been very consistent about it. I'm sure he means in a very billowing, white, summery cloud sort of way, not a dark, thundering sort of way, since he is quite excited. Whenever anyone talks about a baby, he says things like, "I'm getting a cousin!" or "When is my baby coming?" He has also been asking, "What month is it...

Hi, My brother and his wife are expecting a son next month, and there was a baby shower, yesterday. I knitted these baby booties. I made up the pattern. You can download here (for free). Happy Knitting! Lisa Kay